


Hot and Cold

by duality



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-02
Updated: 2016-06-20
Packaged: 2018-07-11 21:40:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7071514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/duality/pseuds/duality
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Temari is always one step ahead of Shikamaru, and sometimes he wonders if he likes it that way. Just short filler from random parts in the timeline.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

     He was waiting for her at the entrance gate, and she was already visible in the distance, walking towards Konoha idly with a slight smirk- she could see him too. His hands in his trouser pockets, Shikamaru wondered vaguely if she looked this confident _every_ morning as he stifled a yawn. It was early and the sun was still low in the sky, a blueish dawn that left him feeling hazy and her somehow completely unperturbed. She had shown him a wide range of emotions, almost always brash and unapologetic, but he knew there was more to her than the stoic facade she played and it bothered him…sometimes. Just sometimes. After all she had seen him at his worst, crying like a baby and unsure, yet to him she had only ever appeared to be perfect- strong, unyielding, confident in every aspect of herself. It was enough to get on his nerves.

  
               “G’morning.” Temari finally murmured in her low voice, the distance closing with every steady sway of her stride. A few feet, a foot away, just a couple inches closer. With relief he saw that she hadn’t grown much, and he was still assuredly taller than her in height; the ponytails toward the top of her head only came to eye-level now and he wanted it to stay that way. Indefinitely. The memories of her towering over him with her haughty expression and wolfish grin were destined to stay in the past.

               As if reading his mind (or his calculating stare), Temari grumbled darkly in complaint and punched him lightly on the shoulder. “You could say something before you gawk at me like that. It’s only polite.” Before he could even mutter a “ _Mendokusei_ ” under his breath she was at him, jabbing an indignant finger in his face. “And I’m not that shorter than you. Don’t get all high on mighty on me yet.”

               He groaned, though not without biting back a dark chuckle. “Already this aggressive so early in the morning, I see. You never change.”

  
               She crossed her arms and tossed her head back, looking at him from down her nose but smiling slightly. “No, I suppose not.” She said after a moment’s pause. “And neither do you. I’m kind of glad.”

  
               Shikamaru’s breath caught, and for a second he just looked at her dumbly, but as lazy as he was Temari was the one person he couldn’t be off his wits around. With a tired grin he cocked his head, motioning further into town. “Me too, I guess. Ready to get going, oh honorable and esteemed guest?”

  
               “Yeah. But that’s honorable, esteemed, all-powerful guest to you, crybaby.”

               _Ugh. Typical her._  
  


  
              

               Unimpressed with other options, they settled for a quick meal at Ramen Ichiraku after Temari reported in, Shikamaru casually leaning on the booth’s counter and watching her adjust the gigantic fan next to her. “Do you really have to bring that thing with you everywhere we go?” He asked her with bemusement, but his voice sounded harsher than he intended and he regretted it immediately. Sharp green eyes looked at him for a minute before turning back to her fan. “Yes,” was her curt reply. The owner of the shop was a friendly man by the name of Teuichi and he grinned at them from behind the counter, cleaning out another glass.

               “It just looks so heavy, is all. Isn’t it a bother?” Shikamaru tried again, mulling over his ramen and glancing at her.

               “Hmph. Maybe for you. I’m not so lazy, though.”

_Of course it’s never easy with her, is it? So troublesome._

                “I don’t even have a retort for that.” He said after a while, shoving chopsticks filled with noodles and bits of meat into his mouth.

                “That’s exactly what I’m talking about. You could if you tried.” Temari scoffed, gently blowing on her tea. He stared at her, and he could see the reflection of tiny ripples in her eyes as she smiled slightly at her cup, and he couldn’t help but smile too. “Yeah,” he agreed with feigned disinterest. They were quiet.

               When the sky began to darken and the light of the shop illuminated the twilight street beyond the curtain, Shikamaru glanced at the empty bowls in front of them and cleared his throat. Rattling through his pockets, he slid a fistful of coins on the counter between the both of them and turned his face away from Temari’s curious look. “C’mon, it’s getting late. I could walk you home, if you want.” He refused to think of the possibility that he was blushing, but just in case averting that piercing gaze was priority.

               Temari’s expression must have been incredulous, because the deeper voice of Teuichi rumbled, “He is your escort after all. Right?” offering a broad, helpful smile.

               _Idiot_. He thought, referring to himself. _Of course there’s nothing odd about wanting to walk her home. It’s a part of my job, anyway._

  
               Clearing her throat and looking a little embarrassed herself, Temari’s stiff nod caught his attention, and the sense of elation in his chest must have been coincidental. “Alright. It’s unnecessary but I don’t see any harm in it. I’m surprised, that’s a more effort than you’d usually bother with, Shikamaru.”

  
               Shikamaru sighed, getting up to stretch and then relaxing into his usual slouch. “Never without the charming last word. Well, whatever. Let’s go.”

  

 

 

               The streets were relatively quiet, the last of wandering children and chuckling parents returning to their homes, shop vendors beginning to close up for the night. A stay shinobi or two passed them by, and Shikamaru dreaded to himself the possibility of running into Ino or Naruto (again), who always had some kind of flirtatious comment ready for when they were seen together. But there were none of his comrades in sight and as the approached the small apartment Temari would stay in for the next few months, he felt his hands unclench and relax, easing until one brushed slightly against hers. They both inhaled sharply, jerking their hands away- she fiddled with her gloves as he put his hands behind his head, scratching slightly at his spiky black hair. The world seemed to glow, warm gold and pale blue lights shining down on the walkways and buildings beneath a sky that showed the beginnings of stars. Her doorway loomed into view, and once they reached the front step he came to a reluctant stop.

               “This is it, obviously.” Temari stated, still holding her gloved hands together and running her fingers over them. _Is she…nervous? No, it must be something else._

               “Obviously.” He meant to sound bored but his voice caught a little, and with a touch of panic at the unexpected falter Shikamaru returned his hands to his pockets, fumbling with the last of his change and trying to will his hands to stay still- but he was restless, unbelievably restless tonight. “You probably need your rest, so-”

               But she didn’t let him finish ( _always so impatient_ ), and with an unreadable pout Temari held up a hand, far more irritated than she had any reason to be. “Are you that eager to leave?”

               He stared at her blankly, eyes slightly wide and uncomprehending. “Huh?”

               The blonde, stubborn kunoichi turned her back to him, walking up the short apartment steps and resting a hand on the door handle. “It just seems odd that you would go out of your way like this and then take off. So, come in.”

The air he breathed suddenly felt electric, his pulse hammering against his skin so unlike his usual lethargic demeanor. Was this actually happening? Why now, of all times? What exactly did this mean? His mind rattled off a thousand scenarios, the proclaimed genius at a complete loss for words and full of unexpected questions he didn’t have an answer to. She was waiting, though, and he knew too well that she was the type who didn’t like to wait.

  
               “In…inside your r-room. Uh, I-... Are you asking me?”

               The door opened with a slight creak, and Temari glared back at him, uncertainty and resolve mixed strangely on her tough but finely featured face. He couldn’t look away from the slight blush spreading across her cheeks. “Would you rather I tell you to? Don’t make me repeat myself. Either come in or don’t.” His look of disbelief and confusion was amusing and sweet but it also made an ache somewhere deep in her chest, a feeling she couldn’t put a name to. Mistake or not, she didn’t go back on an offer.

               “Of all the times to be blunt.” He muttered, but he followed her through the open door regardless, and she had a feeling he would.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> to any of you reading, thank you so much! ;v; I love comments/kudos/likes, they really encourage me to write! I hope this was okay. I love Temari letting her guard down, although finding ways to do that is...difficult, lol

 

 

The invitation into her room ended up being far, far less than Shikamaru had expected- if he had expected anything, which of course he didn’t. Of course she meant to invite him to yet more tea. Of course. Absolutely nothing else. Tea. _Idiot._

 

“You wouldn’t happen to have a shogi board around, would you?” He asked apathetically, but his voice was shaking ever so slightly and he knew she noticed. Shikamaru was sprawled out on the floor, half propped by his arm as his jaw sank glumly against his open palm. It was unusually clammy tonight and he hated it.

 

Temari glanced up with a mix of contempt and amusement, smirking as she stopped from her work polishing the blades of her fan. Legs crossed and haughty, she was looking down at him (for the first time in a long time) from her perch at the edge of a small futon. “Such an old man’s game for such a little boy.” She sneered, delighting in the annoyed blush that shot across his cheeks.  
  
“I’m seventeen, Temari.” Shikamaru’s voice was flat- this was something he had reminded her of far more times than he would have liked. “You act like I’m a child.”

 

“Maybe you should act less childish.”

 

“Tch.” His tongue clicked at his cheek in annoyance. “It’s always the same with you, huh.”  
  
She was smiling at him in that way of hers that was both mischievous and beautiful. “Yeah.” Temari said bluntly. “It is.”

 

He was fine with that, but there was no point in inflating her ego now. Something deep inside of his chest ached- she was making comments about their age difference again and for a reason he couldn’t explain it vaguely bothered him. Not enough to call describe it as anger. Not small enough to ignore. Just _troublesome_. “I’m not a baby anymore, you know.” Shikamaru grumbled at last in quiet defiance. “I’m not the same as I was back then. When I…”

“Cried?” Her grin was insufferable.

 

Shikamaru’s teeth gritted slightly. “Yeah. Fine. When I cried like a pathetic, helpless loser. Satisfied?”

  
There was a curt silence, the breeze from a nearby window blowing between them softly. Temari shifted slightly, and her expression was thoughtful for once, maybe even a little gentle. “I guess so. You don’t have to be so ashamed about it. You grew, didn’t you? It was a kind of test, and you passed. That’s it.”

 

Of all the things for her to say, he honestly hadn’t expected her to drop the teasing for a moment, and it made him strangely uneasy. Was this her version of…praise? At least he knew it wasn’t out of pity. The kunoichi in front of him could be ruthless, cruel, and obnoxiously blunt, but she was honest- beyond the time in the past when Suna had used her and her brothers as tools against Leaf Village. What she said always had a purpose, or she wouldn’t say it.  
  
So when she murmured, “Besides, it was kind of…cute” nearly under her breath, it felt like all the air in his body had suddenly seized at once.  
  
“W-…what was that?” Shikamaru asked incredulously, rising up from the floor.

Temari stared at him blankly, as if not realizing that he was referring to her until the realization hit that she had been thinking out loud. “N-Nothing!” She yelped in a voice much higher and more strained than her usual low husky tones. “Oh my god. Nothing. Absolutely _nothing_.”  
  
He pulled himself closer to the futon, glaring at her in disbelief. “No way. You definitely said…something…” There was no way he could say what he thought it was aloud; he could barely wrap his brain around it as it was. The word floated in his mind over and over and over again, almost singsong and dreamy. “Cute”. There was no way in hell that she had said “cute”. There were just some things that even a genius couldn’t imagine.  
  
Temari scrambled away from his approach, until she felt her back against the wall as she tucked to her knees defensively to her chest, the bedsheets skewing with her sudden movement. “No, no, no! Nothing. Y-you’re imagining things. Ugh!” But her face was turning an unnatural shade of red, and he had never once seen Temari so flustered. It wasn’t helping him deny the word that was hanging between them, the one on the tip of his tongue and the one firmly barred behind her teeth.  
  
Something told him to come closer, and for once Shikamaru acted without really thinking, the impulse leading him forward stronger than the dozens of thoughts flying through his mind. He stood over the futon, leaning a knee on her bed without asking (something that would plague him for hours and hours later, how he could have possibly worked up the nerve to do something so stupid). Temari tried to inch even further backwards and couldn’t- there was simply nowhere else to go. Her eyes were wild in a way entirely different than the cool bloodlust they had in battle.  
  
“Temari,” he coaxed. Only a little closer…until what, he asked himself with no reply. In a voice firmer than he knew he was even capable he murmured at last, “Tell me.”

 

Her blush couldn’t possibly get darker, her glower completely unintimidating. “I told you, you idiot-“  
  
Shikamaru reached out without thinking before he finally caught himself, his hand extended toward her own that was fiercely gripping the sheets. She was watching him in mute fascination. The air between them felt hazy, as if they were under some sort of spell, and the reality of the situation dangled somewhere far, far in the back of his mind as he stared at her, trying to will the words out of her stubborn mouth. _She’s not going to say it,_ he realized with an odd sinking sensation, but a part of him still had enough energy to try. “Just tell me.” Shikamaru’s voice was edged with exasperation, the impatience and sheer disbelief still clouding his usual lazy demeanor. “Temari, wh-“

 

 But the rest of his sentence was cut off by a slicing jet of air, and in dull surprise he stared at the tiny hand-sized fan pulled from somewhere in her robes that was arching towards his face again. Blushing madly and her eyes glinting in fury she swatted at him in a barrage of fierce attacks that had him stumbling backwards in horror. “W-What?! Damn it, Temari, OW! Knock it off!” He couldn’t help but feel relieved it wasn’t her larger, more lethal weapon she was wielding, though the thought only annoyed him more.  
  
“You’re getting a little too comfortable, you stupid bald forehead crybaby. Remember who you’re talking to!” Temari already had collected herself, although surlier than usual. In amazement he noted how intimidating she could be even with that silly tiny fan. _Aren’t those things supposed to be delicate and feminine? Wait, she’s actually right. Remember who you’re talking to._

  
Whatever spell there had been was broken- blushing a bit himself, Shikamaru shook his head to clear his thoughts and slouched toward the door, holding his cheek where the fan had made a red imprint. “As if I could possibly forget. G’night, you madwoman. Thanks for the tea. I guess.” His hand lingered on the doorframe.

 

She huffed, and he would have rolled his eyes and kept walking. But she managed to grumble a small “your welcome” under her breath, and this time it was something he was meant to hear. Why did he have the urge to smile back at her? He repressed it and closed the door behind him, already beginning down the stairs of the small hotel with a noticeable slump in his vigor. For the first time that night he felt tired, drained completely, though not entirely in a way that annoyed him. He guessed it was just her usual antics.  
  
Outside of the hotel, the moon was already fixed higher in the sky than he had thought it’d be, with the sprinkling of stars from earlier brighter and shining even through the occasional thin wisp of clouds. Shikamaru liked Konohana at night, when it was peaceful and quiet and devoid of all the bustling life it had during the day. It was easier to admire the sky. He would’ve happily leaned against the slats of the building and watched it a little longer, but there were mission reports at home, and as much as he was loathe to think about, very important work to do. Maybe wasting so much time here today was a bad idea. He didn’t regret it though.  
  
Hands in his pockets, mood relaxed and contemplative, Shikamaru began his walk down the street, passing under the lit window that would be Temari’s for the next few months- until he stopped suddenly, with a burst of irritation that could only come from her.

 

“Did…did she call me _bald_?!”

 

He couldn’t miss the faint sound of a chuckle from the rooms above.  


**Author's Note:**

> wow so I haven't written fanfic in a long looong time so forgive me if I make any grammatical mistakes or its cringey. I'd love to hear what you think! I want to keep them both as in character as possible.


End file.
